Celebrating Martial Cottle Park’s 10th anniversary!

Santa Clara County Park’s newest park, Martial Cottle Park, is celebrating ten years of preserving Santa Clara Valley's agricultural heritage. 2025 is a special year, as it would have been Walter Cottle Lester’s 100th birthday, as well as the100th anniversary of the two-ton Caterpillar tractor donated to Santa Clara County Parks along with the property.

Established by Edward Cottle in 1856 and continually maintained and farmed by his descendants until 2014, the land now known as Martial Cottle Park remained in agricultural production under one family for over 150 years. In order to maintain its agricultural history and preserve this land for future generations, the Cottle-Lester family withstood the pressures of urban development and turned down fortunes offered by developers. In 2003, Walter Cottle Lester, in accordance with his mother Ethel Cottle Lester’s wishes, transferred his remaining 287 acres to the State of California and County of Santa Clara to become a public park that informs and educates the public about the agricultural heritage of the Santa Clara Valley.

Santa Clara County Parks hopes you will join Martial Cottle Park in the yearlong celebration with a new take- home craft, new visitor center exhibit, programs and more. Made possible by the Santa Clara County Park Charter Fund.